Just a little bit longer
by Saoirse agus amach
Summary: While on a car ride John thinks about simpler times when Dean could hardly wait for Sam to join the family. Show's a four year old Dean and baby Sam. Mary's in there too. A slightly long One-shot. Critique welcome, only my second fanfiction


I do not own Supernatural or the Winchesters, they belong to the CW and Kripke. I just got the bug to write something about John and Dean in which they appear to be a normal father and son waiting for a new family member. Reviews are welcome as are critiques. I don't really care about your flames though.

Four-year-old Dean crept down the hallway to what would become his brother's room. "Just a little bit longer" had been the constant mantra of Mary Winchester to her firstborn who asked everyday when he would be a big brother. Now there really was "just a little bit longer" to wait; Mary was due any day now. John Winchester had been on edge ever since the doctor told them so, and little Dean picked up his wariness. "Dear Lord, please give me a girl this time" Mary had silently asked on the first day she realized she was pregnant. Although, discovering that Samantha was going to be Samuel did not dim her excitement in the least. John had whispered a hurried "thank you" to the God he didn't believe in when he learned that another boy was on the way. Girls were too fragile for him to trust himself with.

So now, Dean was sneaking out of his "big boy bed" to his old crib that would soon hold the newest Winchester. Once inside the room he starting arranging the toys the way he knew little brother would like it and fluffed up the pillow and baby blanket in the crib. After a bit he sat down on the rocking chair in the corner of the room and situated himself for a long night.

John had gotten into the habit of checking up on Dean while he slept. So he got up from his bed, ever so careful not to bother his very pregnant wife, and walked to Dean's room. Looking in the doorway he felt his heart stop at the sight of the empty bed. Not wanting to panic Mary, John began a search of the rooms in the house. First check, bathroom brought nothing. Kitchen, Dean was always hungry, nothing. Dean was not in the living room, any bathroom, dining room, nor had he somehow snuck into John and Mary's room without John's knowledge. John smiled when he realized what room was left; the nursery. John found Dean curled into the rocking chair completely asleep. John walked over and scooped the boy up, hoping to get him back to his room without waking. But Dean's eyes opened and John stopped to see if he would say anything. "What are you doing, daddy?"

"Taking you back to your room, what were you doing in Sammy's room?" By this time John had continued walking to Dean's room and was putting him back to bed. Dean waited until John had tucked him in tight to respond. "I was waiting for Sammy, Mommy said he was coming any day, I thought he might like it if he came home and I was waiting for him when he appeared in the crib." John had somewhat followed until that last point.

"Appeared in the crib? What do you mean, kidd-o?"

"Babies, for a while their mommy's get really big and then a baby appears in the baby bed, didn't you know that, Daddy? I think you should've since it happened to me and all and you've seen it before." John then realized why Dean hadn't asked the dreaded question of where Sam would be coming from, he'd already had figured out in his head. He kissed his son on the forehead, told him to wait a few more days for Sammy and went back to his own bedroom.

Not quite a week later Dean stood in front of Sammy's crib completely in awe of his little brother. "Hey Sammy, I'm Dean." Was all that Dean had said to the baby when John and Mary brought him home. Now the couple watched from the doorway of the nursery as Dean stood there dumbstruck in front of the crib. Mary went over and picked up Dean and also stared down at her new boy. "So Dean, what do you think of him?" Dean paused for a while and furrowed his brows in thought. His face muscles relaxed and he looked at his mom and proclaimed, "I like him, but he smells kind of funny." Mary laughed and John joined her and Dean by the crib. If a picture had been taken just then it would have been the postcard for the American dream.

Now driving down an unknown road with Sam at college and Dean sleeping next to him, John had never felt further away from that memory. "Was I ever really that carefree?" He had asked himself countless times. He had asked and Dean didn't remember first meeting Sam. In fact, the earliest memory that came to Dean's mind was that night later on in Sam's infancy when their dream had died completely. John turned the radio up a bit to drown out his thoughts; Dean woke up and asked where they were. His new life picked up and John kept driving silently praying to a God he didn't believe in, but more to his wife, that he was so sorry the dream hadn't worked, that he had failed.

Author's Note: I couldn't decide which ending worked better, let me know.

Ending Two: "Dad, Dad!" Dean startled John out of his reverie. "I don't remember what the damn exit is." Dean was driving with John off to another town and another hunt that had a small hope of bringing them to the yellow-eyed demon. "It's 13, Dean." John said curtly. He had been enjoying the photo album in his head. Before all this, before Sam hated him and before Dean had become so rough. But, this was their life now. The truth was, John had failed Mary miserably. They didn't have perfect home with kids, their happy family was now three people estranged from one another. It would take something drastic to make them a family again. "How far away is the exit?"

"Just a little bit longer, Dean."


End file.
